Josh Hart breaks down Jimmy Butler tapping into 'maniac' Playoffs mode after goofing around in regular season

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is known for his fierce competitive spirit that's seen him lead the team to two NBA Finals appearances in the past four years. As a player who embodies the "never say die" Miami Heat culture, when it comes time for the postseason, Butler manages to elevate his game to the next level year after year.

Despite that, the likely future Hall of Famer manages to have some fun of his own during the regular season. Over the past two seasons, Jimmy Butler has established a new tradition of arriving to media day with a hilarious outfit for his official photos.

In addition, he's also completed what fans have called a number of "side quests". For example, he appeared in a music video for Pop Punk band Fall Out Boy, and even served as an honorary ball-boy at the US Open tennis tournament.

The way Eastern Conference rival Josh Hart sees things, with the postseason in sight, it's now time for Jimmy Butler to lock in and turn up the intensity. While speaking with Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Hart opened up on Jimmy Butler's mindset:

"Jimmy kind of does side quests during the year until about April. Then he starts locking in. I’m sure people are going to see that maniac competitive side now that he’s done with the side quests and he’s on to the main quest."

Looking at Jimmy Butler & the Miami Heat's place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture

While Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have made the Conference Finals three of the past four years, the team is yet to win a NBA championship with Jimmy Butler. This season, however, Butler and Heat hope to change that.

Currently, the team sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference just one game behind the sixth-place Indiana Pacers. With eight games left in the season, the Heat, who are 6-4 in their last ten, are hoping to improve their standing to avoid the play-in tournament.

If the current standings hold, the team will be competing against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 7/8 seed play-in game. The winner of that game will then get an entry into the postseason, while the loser faces the winner of the 9/10 seed play-in game.

At the time of publication, the 9/10 seed play-in game is expected to feature the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. Should the Heat emerge victorious from the 7/8 seed game, the current standings would see them face the Milwaukee Bucks.

This would set up a massive rematch from last year's NBA playoffs, which saw Butler and the Heat eliminate the Bucks in the first round. With the Bucks looking healthier than they did heading into last postseason, a playoff rematch would surely deliver fireworks.